Clifford A “Cliff” Aberson was born on August 28, 1921 in Chicago,
Illinois. He was a three sport standout at Senn High School in
Chicago, and had a trial with Moline in the Three-I League in 1940.
Later that year he attended Philip K Wrigley's baseball school in
Chicago and was awarded a contract to play with Janesville in the
Wisconsin State League in 1941. Still at Janesville in 1942, Aberson
batted .281.

Aberson entered military service with the Army Air Force in 1943 and
was stationed at Keesler Field, Mississippi. While playing football
at Keesler Field he attracted the attention of Herman Rohrig,
ex-Packer and coach of the Keesler Field team. Rohrig recommended
Aberson to Packers’ coach Curley Lambeau who signed him as soon as
he left military service in spring 1946. But before that could
happen, Aberson was sent to Europe in 1945 with Company L, 314th
Infantry Regiment of the 97th Infantry Division and participated in
the Central Europe Campaign.
He earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Bronze Star Medal and one
battle star.
He was discharged March 22, 1946 at
Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.

Aberson played halfback with the Green Bay Packers in 1946 and
appeared in 10 games. But it was his baseball playing that proved
more successful. In 1947 he led the Western League with 20 homers
and was batting .305 for Des Moines, when he was called up by the
Cubs.

Aberson played 47 games for the Cubs and batted .279 with four home
runs and 20 RBIs. "I actually prefer to play football," Aberson told
The Sporting News on September 24, 1947. "But the future in
baseball is much greater, and your playing days should be longer. I
didn't hesitate a minute when the opportunity came to give up
football for a chance in the majors."

Aberson played for the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast
League in 1948 and was back with the Cubs for 12 games that year and
made a further four appearances in 1949 to end his major league
career.

In 1950, he
played for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, the
Mobile Bears of the Southern Association, and the St Paul Saints of
the American Association. At the end of the season, he retired from
baseball to try out for the Chicago Cardinals of the National
Football League.

Cliff Aberson passed away on June 23, 1973 in Vallejo, California.
He was 51 years old.